Dark Alpha’s Night by Donna Grant
Reaper, #5
Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
March 6, 2018
Macmillan

Favorite Quote: “She hadn’t been raised to be a lady. She’d been raised to be a warrior.”

Reviewed by Sheena

To some Fae, I am their worst nightmare. For I do Death’s bidding. But for all our strength and skill, a powerful enemy has risen up. Finding Ettie could change everything. The Half-Fae is our one chance. She’s sharp and strong and fierce. She steals my breath every time I’m near her. And looking into her eyes is like a bolt of lightning right through me. She’s what I’ve been waiting for my long, dark existence. But for us to be together, we must first stay alive…

Have you read books 1-4?  No? Well, this is so not the place to start. I’ve read fortune cookies with more exposition. Three quarters into the novel, and I was still fighting for footing.  Reading Dark Alpha’s Night felt a little daunting, but interesting enough to keep me on the hook, though, my recurring thought was  “???!!!” which loosely translates to, “What in balls is going on!?” 

I’m still not altogether sure.

But I’ll take a crack at it.  If you are a Reaper series regular, perhaps my fumbling amuses? :-) Silly newbie thought she could jump right in. Ehh?  Mock away, I deserve!

If you are like me; wild, free and nobody-puts-baby-in-a-corner-and-tells-her-what-to-read-and-when-dammit, and you plan to jump in head first- don’t.  Let me be your cautionary tale.  I’ll grab the cross, you grab the nails, Pass my story on down through generations of romance book lovers to come. For if you do not learn from my mistakes.

In any case,  I can only tell you what I know and flail about alllll that I don’t know.  Starting with, WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?  There are fae and half-fae and Reapers who kill…someones? Fun fact, these Reapers are fae and part fae and sometimes leave their wives and kids to…reap, because duh, the battle between good evil rages.  The Reapers are comprised of dark and light fae (are there really no party lines here?) and Death is a hot woman who is basically sex on a stick but has everyone’s balls in her deathy vices and commands uber respect.  Nobody messes with Death- check her out- definitely.Challenge her? No way Jose.

Okkkayy…..

Counter to Death, whose side we are on, (I think), is the vile villain, Braun.  Devilishly handsome and  previously imprisoned for millions of years, Braun has a bunch of bad assess on his squad and he is virtually impossible to kill, except one of Daire’s (hero) fellow Reaper’s mates could kill him but she just doesn’t do that anymore because, why- not important, they have to find another way to defeat Braun.  Daire is also kind of broody and a little jealous of his fellow Reapers who have recently settled down.  Reapers only recently became dating eligible and a few of them are hooked up with half fae/half human mates they adore.  Daire is totally going “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” and over seeing the couples mooning over one another.  Luckily he has an assignment from Death to distract him.

Death tasks Daire to follow someone (why!??!!!) and on assignment, he observes Braun insinuating himself into the lives of three young half fae sisters; Carrie, Jamie and Ettie (the heroine) whom he seems to be trying to date, influence romantically, annnnnd seems to be related to.

*Record Scratch*

I really did not want to entertain Ettie getting frisky with her grandpa, (fae-pa?) no matter how many times removed.  This isn’t some historical novel where kissing cousins marrying to preserve the monarchy is a thing and I deal.

This is fantasy/paranormal romance and I’m just not into grandpa evil fae making moves on his halfling descendant.

By now, I’ve figured out that Ettie is the heroine, Daire is her HEA and together they must join forces to lure out and annihilate great grandpa fae Braun.  Initially, some weak sibling rivalry  (fights about who saw what boy first and who is jealous of whom) allowed Ettie to play into Braun’s hands for a short while. But of course, she’s a smart cookie and with Daire as an ally with romantic feels, before long she sees through Braun’s facade.

A cold chill slithered down her spine in warning. She dropped her arms and slowly lifted her head. Then she turned and came face-to-face with Bran…

“How long have you known who I was?”

Ettie briefly thought about lying, but what was the point? “A few days. You were too . . . aggressive in your approach.”

He gave her a flat look. “You were dying for male attention. It wouldn’t have mattered what I looked like. You would’ve still acted the same.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jamie take notice of them and straighten. Ettie didn’t look her way or to the cottage. Bran’s attention needed to be all on her, not her sisters.  “Maybe. Maybe not. The fact is, you screwed up,” Ettie said. “You were too concerned with my sisters liking you and learning if this land was mine when you should’ve been trying to sleep with me.”

“If I wanted you in my bed, you would’ve been there.” His retort didn’t hurt her as it might have weeks earlier.

“What do you want?”

“You know.”

She widened her eyes.

Ettie widened her eyes a lot actually.

As did I.

Things happened at warp speed and holding on and surviving the ride is as good as it got.  Character and plot investment was abandoned chapters ago and ultimately, I settled for taking the novel at its word.  The danger is over for now, (sounds good to me).  Rando characters crop up, do things and leave (nice to have met you for those 13 lines, good luck to ya) Ettie and Daire fall in love (sure, ok, HEA secured, thanks!).

This book certainly proves to be confounding and “????!!!!!” if you are new to the series and definitely has some cracky potential. I love cracky paranormal light fun books. I read them well and often, so trust me when I say, there is *something* here. Definitely some cracky elements, residue sprinkled throughout- hence me finishing- wanting to finish it, to begin with. It wasn’t bad it was just a jumbly mess without an ounce of context. Things happened, people fought, some were vanquished but not really and Daire finally has a shot at the family he’s always wanted, Ettie’s getting laid regularly, her sisters are safe and they all live to fight another day.

The ending is kind of a cliffie but I was too bewildered to really mind.  Bottom line, as cracky and up my alley as it may be with it’s oddly inviting appeal, despite my lack of context and background info,  I’m not ready to commit to reading books one through four just to make heads/tails of what in the heck I just read. My suggestion? If you fancy fast-paced, fun, fluffy stories with quirky worlds, read book one and see if it’s your cup-o. If so, then by the time you get to Dark Alpha’s Night, you’ll have the prerequisite background and investment that is vital to getting through it, without all of the  “???!!!.”

Grade: C

Previous Donna Grant Reviews: Forbidden Highlander

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